Now more than ever, anime and manga are at the closest they’ve ever been to being mainstream media. And with their rising popularity, many talented authors, alongside their pieces, are starting to receive the recognition they deserve. Despite the abundance of new and extremely well-written manga/anime, the position of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece still remains unshakable.
While it’s true that Oda has nearly maxed out all his manga-writing related skills, one that was already maxed out from the getgo is his backstory weaving. No other anime/manga can tell a backstory as intricate and meticulous like One Piece. Calling them anything short of masterpieces would be a disservice. Here are a few One Piece characters who resonated with our hearts through their tragic backstories, and others we don’t know enough about yet.
10 Tragic: Boa Hancock
Slavery is not a concept new to One Piece. As long as one was rich enough, they could buy any slave of their liking– that’s the reality of it in the world of One Piece. However, to be a slave is one thing, and to be a slave to the Celestial Dragons is another. Hancock and her sisters were the unfortunate victims of the latter scenario. They’ve been enslaved for the majority of their youth and only escaped thanks to Fisher Tiger.
9 Unknown: Sir Crocodile
Crocodile holds one of the most mysterious and intriguing backstories in the series. According to Ivankov, whatever it is that Crocodile is hiding, it's enough to tie his hands from attempting revenge against the person behind his imprisonment– Luffy.
His backstory is subject to many fan theories ranging all over the spectrum. Some are viable while others are hilariously far-fetched. Hopefully, we can get an answer to our questions sometime in the future.
8 Tragic: Robin
On the tragic scale, Robin’s backstory scores very high. As a child, she witnessed what even adults wouldn’t be able to handle. The destruction of home, the mass murder of her loved ones, and a twenty year-long manhunt– she has been through it all. Robin's two-decades-long nightmare only came to an end in Enies Lobby with her iconic “I want to live!’ It was a moment that left fans bawling their eyes out.
7 Unknown: Zoro
Zoro is a character who fans know like the back of their hands, yet know very little about his past. His origins, upbringing, and relatives all remain a mystery to this date– two decades after his introduction. Some speculate that Zoro’s past would be a fixture in Wano, just as Sanji’s past got a feature in Whole Cake Island, but that still remains uncertain.
6 Tragic: Doflamingo
As evil as he is, we have to admit that Doflamingo weathered many events that are beyond tragic. And mostly due to these events, he became the flaming ball of hate he is today. His grand ambition of destroying the world that rejected him made a bit more sense after his past was unveiled.
Fans are completely convinced of Doflamingo’s inevitable return. It would be a waste of potential if he was left to rot in Impel Down.
5 Unknown: Eustass Kid
Eustass Kid currently is one of the central figures of the Wano arc. Fans can’t wait for whatever he has in store when his time to shine comes. For now, though, there's little if any information regarding Kid or his past. Heck! We don’t even know the name of his devil fruit, that’s how much in the dark we are.
4 Tragic: Trafalgar Law
The story of Trafalgar Law is a dark and sad one. It was one of the few instances where Oda didn’t shy away from highlighting the brutality of the world he created. Whatever you need to know can be summarized in one scene: a young Law literally climbing out of a pile of corpses– that’s how extreme his backstory is. Thankfully, Law eventually found love and warmth before it was too late for him
3 Unknown: Kaido
Hundred Beasts Kaido is the strongest creature in the world and arguably the strongest of Yonko. He has been called a creature, he has been called a thing, but not once was he addressed as human. Either Kaido isn’t human, or he has a history where at some point he loses his humanity. Nonetheless, both case scenarios are equally intriguing.
2 Tragic: Brook
The cast of One Piece is unbelievably huge. There exist so many characters that even the staunchest of fans would find it troublesome to recall each of them and their respective backstories. There's no character in the series with a backstory more tragic than Brook's– one that spanned 50 full years! The sorrow and loneliness he had to go through are enough to break any human being.
1 Unknown: Shanks
Shanks is easily one of the most enigmatic characters in One Piece– if not the most. He debuted as early as chapter one, yet his overall status still remains a mystery. Him sailing abroad the Pirate King's ship is the extent of what we know. His origins and whatnot are still heavily shrouded in fog. The day Shanks' backstory gets unveiled is a day anticipated by fans worldwide.
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